Improving the quality of life

Health science research is the main field for Foundation grants, but the Foundation also awards grants to humanitarian and social causes.

Funding for this has been enshrined in the Foundation’s Articles of Association since its inception. The Foundation’s Articles of Association also specify grants for other humanitarian and social projects, echoing the original 1951 Articles of Association of the Novo Foundation (one of the three foundations that subsequently merged into the Novo Nordisk Foundation).

The Foundation only awards grants to humanitarian and social causes based on applications received from established organizations or institutions, not from individuals. The Foundation ensures that the organizations it supports focus on people’s health and welfare and that they are recognized and file publicly available audited accounts. The Foundation supports social causes that promote people’s welfare in Denmark.